They were pretty easy to make, though I get impatient when I have to wait for things to rise. These rolls go through two main rises, once after the dough has come together and then again after the final shapes have been formed. For me, the chance to play with dough and the yeasty smell of it as it rises makes up for all the waiting time. They came out golden-brown outside and soft on the inside, but they definitely needed more salt.

Dinner rolls after their final rise

My ideas for experimenting with this dough are:
1) Add more salt!
2) Add an extra egg, so it has more of an egg-bread taste.
3) Add more sugar.

Dinner rolls fresh from the oven

I noticed something that I found interesting while looking for a recipe for dinner rolls. I have two copies of the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, one older and one newer. Comparing the two versions I found one major difference: the newer version’s instructions are about twice as long as the older version’s. I’ve heard cookbook authors talk about cookbooks needing more detailed instructions these days, because most people don’t grow up with the kitchen playing as prominent a role as it used to, but this was the first time I had two copies of the same book to compare. Another thing that caught my attention was that in the older version, the dinner rolls were right at the front of the bread section, whereas in the newer version they’re closer to the back, with the front being given to muffins. I assume this is because dinner rolls were more popular at that time than they are now, and that our current, less kitchen-centric society is more inclined to make muffins, which take all of ten minutes to assemble.